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Pelham teen who died of rare pneumonia lovingly remembered

By John Collins, jcollins@lowellsun.com

Updated:
01/22/2013 11:21:45 AM EST

PELHAM -- It's a heart-rending tragedy for a family and a community that no one saw coming, one that in a world of modern medicine, high-tech equipment and in the care of the world's best doctors, is simply not supposed to happen, family and friends of 16-year-old Zach Andrews believed.

Yet, just before 7 p.m. on Saturday, in the intensive-care unit of the Floating Hospital for Children at Tufts Medical Center in Boston, Zach died of complications from a rare form of pneumonia that could not be treated with antibiotics, his doctors said.

"I was with him; I couldn't do anything, though," said Nancy Andrews, tears welling as she recalled the moment of Zach's death.

By midday Monday, she and husband Keith Andrews had written their son's obituary, and made arrangements for Zach's wake at the Pelham Funeral Home on Thursday, and funeral and burial at St. Patrick's Church and Gibson Cemetery on Friday, but Nancy still found the reality difficult to absorb.

"It's like you're talking about somebody else, not your own baby.

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It just doesn't make any sense," Zach's mom said, as she stood in the kitchen of the family's Windham Road home where they had moved from Lowell when Zach was just 1.

"It's every parent's worst nightmare," she said.

On Friday, the family had relayed medical reports from Boston that Zach's condition appeared to have stabilized.

"We thought he was getting better, but really he wasn't," said Nancy Andrews. "His lungs were just flat, and they couldn't get any air into them. Finally, even his strong young heart couldn't take it anymore."

Zach's death wounded many young, strong hearts in Pelham, including those of his four siblings, and scores of classmates, especially his girlfriend, Mikayla Curley.

"I just can't grasp the fact that I'll never hug, kiss, or see you again... It doesn't seem real, not the slightest bit," Mikayla wrote to Zach on Twitter on Sunday. "It seems like tomorrow I'll wake up and you'll be here, and knowing you won't kills me inside."

Zach had been hospitalized since Dec. 29, first at Lowell General Hospital before being transferred to Tufts where he was eventually kept in a medically induced coma in intensive care for almost two weeks, after speaking his last words to his mother on Jan. 5th, she said. On Jan. 3, Zach had posted his last Twitter message, writing, "I just want to go home."

The Pelham community rallied around Zach and the Andrews family during his hospital stay, with friend Bri Belley leading a fundraising effort that generated more than $5,000 in 11 days through online donations, collections at schools, and sales of "Stacks for Zach" rubber bracelets.

On Sunday evening, about 50 Pelham High students held a marathon remembrance vigil for Zach at the school, and many returned on Monday.

"Zach's going to live on in the minds and hearts of the community," said his older brother, Mike Andrews. "It's amazing to hear the things these kids are saying about my little brother, but we know it all to be true. It's why they loved him, and why I loved him."

Zach, who turned 16 on June 10, was a junior at Pelham High and straight-A honors student as a freshman and sophomore. Zach applied his "broad-based intelligence" and probing curiosity to multiple interests, including: history, politics, the military, music, computers, screenwriting, video-making, sports, fitness cooking and pop culture, his brother said.

Next to Zach's bed on Monday sat ancient-history books on Mayan culture and Rome. On his walls he'd hung posters of Beatles albums and John Lennon.

"Zach had a maturity beyond his age," said Mike Andrews. "He had his license, a car; he worked (at the Pelham McDonald's), and if they'd call him at 5 in the morning to come in, at the drop of a hat he'd be there."

Zach wasn't shy about asking teachers questions -- challenging authority, but with a smile, according to his brother.

"He had a sense of humor that'd make you laugh, and make you think," said Mike Andrews. "He loved his girlfriend, his family, his nephew, Gavin...

"He was proud of himself, and we were all proud of him."

One of the brother's last conversations dealt with Zach's plan to join the National Guard, following his dad's footsteps into the military.

"My response to him on that was, 'I didn't think mom's going to want to let her baby go,' " Mike Andrews said.

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